UFC Vegas 50: Santos vs. Ankalaev Prediction and Odds: Best Bets for UFC March 11th
By Reed Wallach
The UFC follows up UFC 272 with a fight night card pitting rising contender Magomed Ankalaev vs. Thiago Santos in a battle of Light Heavyweight contenders.
The UFC Fight Night card has 14 bouts, headlined by the Light Heavyweight clash but there are several high level fights between rising stars in the featherweight, bantamweight and lightweight weight classes.
It's a tough card this week with a lot of newcomers on tap, but I found two bets I'm on for this one.
Odds courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook
2022 Record: 11-8 (+5.56 Units)
Main Event: Magomed Ankalaev (-580) vs. Thiago Santos (+410)
This feels like an Ankalaev beatdown, as the line indicates. Santos has not looked the same after sustaining several knee injuries in the 2019 near title victory of Jon Jones while Ankalaev is rising up the Light Heavyweight ranks.
Santos is off of a win against Johnny Walker in an awkward staring contest for much of the five rounds and I believe that the Russian is going to bring much more pressure to this fight and Santos will wilt.
I think Ankalaev finishes him in the second or third round, setting him up for a title eliminator fight this summer.
PICK: Ankalaev Inside the Distance below -130
Parlay: Drew Dober (-165)/Sodiq Yuseff (-250)
My two favorite favorites on the board this week includes Drew Dober, who is getting Terrance McKinney on short notice after McKinney steps in after he fought on February 26th.
McKinney will surely bring the fight to Dober, but the Nebraska native has been in the octagon with far superior competition and I see him taking over as the fight goes on. This is a tough spot for McKinney, who sports some value in the first round, but Dober looks like a strong live betting candidate as I believe he finishes this fight in the second or third round with his power.
I'll pair him with Yusuff, who should be able to snap Alex Caceres' five fight win streak with his far superior striking. 'Super' averages a strike more per minute per UFCStats.com, and has significantly more power than Caceres. I see him staying on the outside and holding off any attempts from 'Bruce Leeroy' to take this to the mat and taking a decision here.
PICK: Dober/Yusuff +125
You can find all of Reed's bets HERE!